


a step to the left

by CkyKing



Series: the multiverse theory [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-05 13:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11013972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CkyKing/pseuds/CkyKing
Summary: the many variations of noctis lucis caelum across the multiverse.what would happen if you changed one simple thing? let's find out.





	1. conqueror kings

**Author's Note:**

> nyx and noctis are bloody and merciless kings that only soften around a select few. posted from [tumblr](http://ckyking.tumblr.com/post/160605115784/conqueror-kingsnoctis-and-nyx)

  * okay, so, conquering kings!noctis and nyx aka bloody husbands
  * noctis is the youngest king of lucis, a kingdom known for its mercilessness and its thirst for blood. however, no one would have thought their youngest would also be the deadliest
  * they are known both for their crystal magic, which stems from the magic-rich ground lucis was built on, and blood magic, which they refined to an unbelievable degree
  * lucis is that one kingdom that’s pretty chill if you don’t look at all the violence, but mess with them and things get ugly real quick. their trade agreements are still existing only because other countries are afraid of the retaliation, and because lucis was the one to shelter them while they were growing in the first place
  * each king left their mark on eos, and it was never a pretty one, at least for their enemies. from the conqueror to the warrior to the cruel, they all kept their growing kingdom safe from invasions and other attempts at rebellion by crushing it underfoot before it could grow. this is now a family way of dealing with things for the lucis, especially regis and noctis
  * for example, after noctis started weapon training, regis and cor allowed him to train with the assassins they stopped, and he would kill them all as training exercise
  * lucis and associates find it cute and funny. other people call it murder, but who cares
  * really, lucians are pretty unflappable now when it comes to violence, seeing the history of their rulers. the galahdians were impressed when they first visited
  * actually, nyx met noctis thanks to an assassin. as in, noctis nearly landed on him while chasing after his would-be assassin. 
    * cor turned it into a training session aka “how to chase a moving target 101”
  * nyx was sent with a delegation to lucis to ask for aid in their fight against cavaugh, who had allied with niflheim
  * regis had met with the galahdians in battle several times, and decided that he would help them once again in this case. to do so, he sent noctis, his only son 
  * the other galahdians of the delegation were outraged by this in the beginning, until regis suggested that they test noctis for themselves, and he laid them all down in ten seconds flat. without weapons.
  * nyx was smitten right then and there. for his part, noctis liked the looks of him, and the way he did not even bat an eye while noctis killed his assassin
  * so, noctis helped galahd and turned the tides of the war all by himself, and this is where they fell in love
  * in blood and war and steel
  * and it perfectly fits their relationship with one another
    * the way they don’t hold back while sparring with one another, because their enemy won’t afford them that courtesy
    * the battle lust that rises within them and that they ride out in one another’s bodies
    * sweet kisses tainted in blood, hands skirting injuries to press marks into skin, the admiration for each other’s ferocity, for the way they move
    * theirs is a story of love and war, and they wouldn’t have it any other way
  * noctis came back to lucis after two years, full of new scars and with nyx in tow
  * a lot of their scars actually come from each other; not from other battles like people seem to think. they do not do things by halves, and it shows. 
    * in the future, guards will learn to leave whatever part of the citadel they are training in alone, because it gets their blood pumping in all the ways that matters
  * they bonded to each other during the war, with noctis sharing his own life energy with nyx and granting him magic and the ability to warp
  * though they only use wide-spread elemental magic as a last resort, because it’s too dangerous when both armies are on the battlefield and noctis has always taken pride in only needing his ability to warp to wreck his enemies. nyx is exactly the same
  * in the beginning, niflheim/cavaugh thought he did not actually inherit his ancestors’ magic, and boy was it a hard blow when they found how false that was.
  * regis stepped down gracefully when he came back and went to explore eos once more with his friends, and to seek new battles
    * noctis and him kept in contact during all this time the only way they knew how : with blood
    * after all, blood is the strongest chain that exists for a lucis, and they know exactly how to take advantage of it
  * during his time in galahd, noctis forged bonds with a lot of people who would become his inner circle, like war leader crowe or spymaster pelna
  * his friends and comrades from lucis occasionally visited him, to see how he was doing and to lend a hand in battle, making them all that much deadlier
    * everyone knows lucians are not to be messed with after all
  * they got married a few years after they came back to insomnia, when noctis got used once again to the duties of a royal as well as the political maneuvering he thought he had left behind
    * during that time, pelna ratted out all of the people that would even think of rebelling against his king, except for a select few amongst the nobility
    * this is why noctis and nyx turned their own wedding into a trap, made it seem like they, and the city’s defenses, would be vulnerable, and left open for an attack. the chapel ran red with blood afterwards, not that it stopped them from marrying there.
    * their wedding was an hand-fasting, using white ribbons dyed red with their own blood, a mix of galahdian (the ribbons) and lucian (sharing of blood) customs. 
    * as you summarized, they are pretty big on blood
  * they are terrifying in battle and only soften around the people they care about
  * together, they are the bloody kings, not to be defied if one wishes to survive
    * that name was totally pelna’s fault. The spymaster has way too much fun using the extraness rumors to strike fear into their enemies’ hearts. it stuck.
    * “you two do have an healthy liking for blood. especially when it covers the other.”
  * the bloody kings often leave for battle with their armies, with one of them staying in insomnia to take care of the country
    * noctis likes to wear white to welcome his husband back to the crown city, because nyx does tend to come back covered in blood, and he loves seeing his clothes stained red when he welcomes his husband back
    * noctis, on the other hand, tracks it behind him when he comes back. it’s not unusual for him to finish cleaning his weapons sitting on the arm of nyx’s throne while he deals with the council or with envoys. strangely, it always happens when he’s dealing with people they heavily dislike. the bloody handprint on nyx’s neck from noctis’ welcome back kiss stays there all day
  * and nobody will ever forget the glorious occasion that was the first time noctis left nyx in the city to deal with an uprising. the nobility still talks of the bloody kiss noct left on nyx’s cheek when he came back, and the weapons he gave him as proof of victory. 
    * nyx used those to forge a pair of daggers of which they each kept one
    * the ribbons from their hand-fasting are tied around the hilt, so they always carry a piece of one another
  * though it’s not to say they are without humour
    * they love being extra just to give people something to talk about and to see the rumours that will come from it
    * for example, nyx likes to disappear when they, his army and him, approach insomnia just to see people panicking. as a bonus, it pisses crowe off something awful
    * nyx finds it hilarious. noctis is the same. one of his favourite thing about nyx coming back is the game of “who’s going to tell the king we lost his husband again ?” they all play when he disappears
    * because who wants to tell one half of the blood kings that the other is just gone
    * no one, that’s who
    * it eventually became newbie hazing in the army. the kings like to let them think they are not aware of it
  * to be continued? perhaps




	2. nyx, noctis and weaponry : a love story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> love is not only words, it is sharp edges and adrenaline, the thrill of a fight and the glorious wind down that follows. alternatively, they fucking love seeing the other fight. 
> 
> posted on [tumblr](http://ckyking.tumblr.com/post/160879867639/nyx-noctis-and-weaponry-a-love-story) and set in the conqueror kings!au

  * bloody king!nyx catching a throwing knife with his teeth and noct’s impressed whistle from the bed
    * bloody king!noct is purring and wants to lick the trail of blood because nyx just won’t stop nudging the knife with his tongue
    * he does it on purpose. they both have a mile-wide blood kink, which literally _everybody_ knows about
    * noct is totally keeping that knife
    * after “taking care” of nyx’s wound, that is. can’t have his husband be injured after all
  * silk scarves. don’t get me started on silk scarves
    * noctis bet with ignis that he wouldn’t spill blood for an entire day, at peak assassination period. visiting royals, you see
    * at this point, ignis has fully embraced that noctis is a little _heathen_ and doesn’t even try to make him behave anymore
    * that’s why the king chooses those times to use every single etiquette and diplomacy lessons he ever had. iggy’s face makes it all worth it~
    * nyx likes those scarves very much, especially when noct has them wrapped around someone’s throat
    * (the contrast is just lovely. his favourite are the red scarves)
    * even more when he is welcomed back by noct only wearing those. 
    * they have a lot fun once the bet is over 
    * noct won of course, he can be perfectly civilized when he wants to
  * hmmm, chains are another one of nyx’s favourite. 
    * he once witnessed noctis snapping someone’s spine with those, one foot braced in the middle of their back while his hands held the chains taunt.
    * to be honest, the boots were what did it for him
    * he very much likes seeing his husband either all suited up in formal clothes or lazy and comfortable, but ready to kill people in both cases. 
    * boots and barefoot, the two extremes
  * nyx is divine with daggers in hands, and he likes to show off just for noct when they are fighting and his opponents are barely a threat to him 
    * really,he would do it even if they were a match, because he likes to spice things up
  * big turn-on is nyx wielding a rapier
    * the contrast of nyx’s savagery paired with the rapier’s precision and refinement does things to noctis.
    * his cocky little smirk every time he brings it out doesn’t help matters
  * lances are a shared thing, because noctis’ flexibility? nyx’s perfect balance and strength? this does wonders for both of them.
    * noctis uses nyx as a springboard to go even higher, to dive faster into the fray. 
    * once in a while, nyx will throw him up using the lance, when aerial opponents are to be fought.
    * nyx drives the strikes deeper, sometimes warping up on top of noct’s spear and pressing down with all its weight to stab it in.
    * together, they are a whirlind
  * and don’t get me started on joint training
    * nyx’s hands wrapping around noct’s bare legs after he put him in a thigh choke hold
    * nyx’s mouth doing wonderful things to get himself out of that chokehold
    * noctis really, really appreciates said things.
    * “that’s playing dirty now.”
    * nyx leaves a stinging mark behind before soothing it with a swipe of his tongue
    * “all’s fair in love and war, my king”
  * nyx and noct knowing each other so well that they can pick out the other’s hidden weapons with a single glance, and won’t hesitate to pull them out if needed in a pinch.
    * very intimate touches in the middle of a fight leads to very intimate sex later
  * also, the galahdian version of sharing clothes is sharing weapons. 
    * when they see noct playing with one of nyx’s specially made throwing knives, they know that it is Serious™
    * or nyx caring for one of noct’s daggers, the enchanted ones he only pulls out against armored enemies. aulea had them made for regis after that trouble during king’s tale
  * and teaching your little techniques to the other? practically engaged.
    * when nyx starts showing the lucian tell-tale pinpoint attacks or noctis uses his full body to wield his lance in a style eerily reminiscent of the ulrics? 
    * they all know what’s going to happen




	3. lucis - supernatural hunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is an au of the oracle!au, an urban fantasy where the lucis are supernatural creatures hunters, and noctis is their heir.
> 
> posted on [tumblr](http://ckyking.tumblr.com/post/160621421339/hi-i-was-just-wondering-about-your-uh-demon)

  * The Lucis were originally an experiment from the Summer Court of the Fae to turn humans into some of their best enforcers and have a ready-made supply of Knights should their own die.
  * To do this, they arranged events so the Lucis would intermingle with as much supernatural beings as possible, quite literally breeding their very own weapons.
  * Soon enough, this was turned into another battlefield for the opposing Courts, to see who would gain the coveted prize of a family of born supernatural hunters
  * It was only thanks to a Lucis making a deal with the Old Golds, whose names are enough to bring madness and death, that the Lucis were freed from the Fae. In exchange for their family’s freedom, they became the Gods’ plaything, and were struck from the records : that Lucis was Ardyn.
  * Eventually, everyone forgot that his sacrifice, and he was reviled. It was only thousands of years later that the truth was found again, when he re-emerged and started targeting the Lucis one by one
  * About their powers
    * They are anathema to everything supernatural, with the exception of a small number of extremely powerful beings who can resist them
    * That’s because of the unique mix of creature blood running through their veins, making them something both supernatural and not at the same time in Eos’ ‘eyes’. They can control in a certain area around them what supernatural abilities are allowed to exist/operate
    * Kind of like how a powerful enough being have their own domain of power where their word is law. 
    * This ability is terrifying and extremely versatile : stopping a werewolf’s healing factor so they kill themselves when they try to turn, cancelling immunities to poison, turning a siren’s voice against its brethren, destroying magic-based flight while their target is in the air…
    * The Lucis sometimes have powers beyond their ability to nullify supernatural abilities, because a mix of circumstances can awaken some of their dormant blood 
  * Now, the Lucis are the ones keeping the supernatural in check and stopping it from being revealed to the rest of the world
    * If someone breaks the treaty that was crafted between the Lucis and the Council, they get hunted and killed before they can hurt anyone else
    * The world is divided in two : the mundane, and the supernatural
    * The Lucis are in charge of the mundane side, the Council of the supernatural one
  * The Council is made up of the most powerful supernatural families/clans/factions, such as the Ulrics, who are complete unknown, or the Nox Fleuret, royal family of the Winter Court
  * Talking about the Nox Fleuret, Lunafreya is a changeling of the Winter Court, daughter of their Queen and of a famous seer known for his accurate predictions
    * She became an impressive witch on her own, taken in by the Lucis when she was not of age and protected by them
    * Hundreds of years later, she is still one of their strongest ally, and was the one to gift Pryna and Umbra, payments from one of her contracts, to Noctis. Luna also taught him spell-crafting, so he could better protect himself
    * They keep in touch thanks to the Hounds and to Luna’s ability to use any reflective surface as a mean to communicate
  * And now, what led to the events of the “marry me off face”
    * Noctis is Regis’ only son, and a prize in both worlds, though for different reasons
    * as a cover, the Lucis are one of the, if not the, most powerful families in the world, with shares in every business, contacts spread wide across the world and spies hidden everywhere
    * It’s that much easier to keep the world safe if it’s nearly in the palm of their hands already, isn’t it?
    * So, Noctis’ position as the heir to that empire made him a target in the mundane world
    * But his being the last and apparently most powerful of the Lucis in a long time, with ties to Lunafreya herself? No one could pass that up
    * A coming-of-age party is the only time where an heir is left vulnerable, from an old tradition so rooted in the supernatural world that it was impossible to avoid
    * It’s the one time where courting is left up to the pretendants, and not to courted party. For one night only, the heir has to avoid getting tricked into a political marriage that would leave them as nothing but slaves
    * That’s why it’s their coming-of-age, because they will either make it past it, or they won’t. It’s one of the harshest lessons they learn, stemming from a time where no one could afford weakness in the family
    * Until that point, the Lucis could get away with not subjecting their children to this, but Ardyn subtly twisted things from behind the scenes to weaken his former family, culminating with Noctis’ party
    * Nyx was not there for the events, but he managed to glean enough information to learn that it was something alright.
    * Someone, though no one knows who, put every member in attendance under a geas to stop them from revealing what happened during that party
    * They just know that it was someone massively powerful, to be able to do this in one go and with no one being able to counteract it
  * After that, Ardyn started in assault in earnest, destroying the Lucis branches across the world while doing the same thing to some of the Council’ families
  * The Lucis accused the Council, and the Council accused the Lucis. 
  * It nearly turned into an all-out war, until Regis uncovered him as the perpetrator, ending gravely injured in the process. He was hidden by Luna while Noctis dealt with the backlash
  * Which led to him and a chosen envoy, Nyx of the Ulric Clan, working together to prove that Ardyn truly was the one behind everything, and to kill him in this case
  * To make things as “fair” as possible, all contacts between the respective factions and their envoys was supposed to be cut, but they all know that the Council put this into effect to cut Noctis off from his support base.
  * They want the Lucis, their greatest opponent and threat out of the picture
    * Luna doesn’t care about that no contacting ban though. She did grow into a powerhouse of her own, and a lot of people are leery of antagonizing her. You don’t want to mess with the daughter of the Winter Queen and of the man that caught her eyes. 
    * She is technically supposed to be neutral, but has enough leeway to favour the Lucis while appearing to do the opposite
  * And this is how Nyx and Noctis ended up in that situation, and how the “marry me off face” became a thing
  * Some more info about Noct 
    * Noctis favours daggers and firearms; sniper rifles when it proves necessary. Everyone was surprised when they found out how big his “domain of power” was, and they twisted it to his advantage immediately after realizing it
    * Strangely, his powers sometimes manifest as golden light, and no one knows what it means. The Lucis’ powers are supposed to be invisible, but Aulea, a witch who specialized in elemental magic and runes, theorized that it may be a latent ability from his ancestors.
    * Umbra and Pryna are Hounds of the Wild Hunt, able to hunt someone by scent or by the particular feelings they emit. They are especially sensitive to corruption, like the Old Gods, and will only listen to Noctis, whom they grew up with. They were pups when Luna gifted them to newborn Noct, and they are completely in sync
    * They can use shadows as weapons and as mean of transport, both for themselves and Noctis. In their true form, they are hulking masses of shadows vaguely shaped like wolves.
    * In everyday life, they either stay in Noct’s shadow or appear as harmless dogs. It’s that much more surprising when they transform into hell beasts after their master is threatened
  * Now, Nyx
    * The Ulric Clan is an unknown, and their best kept secret is what type of supernatural creatures they are. It’s that much harder to pin down because it seems like they all display signs of being from different species, which is unheard of and freaking impossible
    * In reality, they are shapeshifters. Not just weres, but truly able to change between species entirely, with the numbers of forms they can take increasing with age and experience
    * They were what the Summer Court based themselves on to create the Lucis, trying to mix as much creature blood as possible to make them deadly
    * Nyx doesn’t really care that much for the Lucis in the beginning, happy to stay with his family and to travel the world when he feels like it
    * But his interest was piqued when he heard about Noctis and the clusterfuck his coming of age apparently was
    * He chose to become the envoy just to satisfy his curiosity, and boy did he not expect Noct
  * Noctis is a seething ball of rage when they meet, still reeling from his father’s injuries and being cut off from his people
  * Nyx is quite taken by the sheer amount of life that comes from him, and decides to make it his mission to bring it out as often as possible
  * Noct just wants to stab him and be done with it, but thinks of his family and reigns himself in
  * Theirs is a rocky acquaintance, until they get into their first battle with Ardyn’s creatures and find out that the other is truly reliable and more than they appear
  * And it just goes from there
  * To be continued?




	4. dark!oracle!au - in the mirror darkly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in a world where cor the messenger does not exist, the oracle must survive being raised in niflheim. noctis finds that drautos may be both the problem, and the solution in this case.
> 
> posted on [tumblr](http://ckyking.tumblr.com/post/160951996644/dark-oracleau)

  * okay, so, cor doesn’t exist in that aau (alternate alternate universe)
  * noctis is raised in niflheim by iedolas
    * he is listless during the first few months, refusing to speak and barely eating, but always praying for help to the gods his family are supposed to be connected to
    * no one answers
    * so he clings to the only thing that’s left to him, and that’s anger. anger at the empire for taking his family and ruining his home, for dragging him to the capital like a prize to be showcased
  * he grows up to be terrifying, that child, and gralea starts learning this when he refuses to have MTs around his rooms or guarding him
    * he makes that perfectly clear by destroying the ones that violate this unspoken rule
    * and the guard that tried to stop him ended up burnt by the amount of power the child oracle was throwing around
  * noctis is nearly sick right then and there, but one look at the twisting monstrosities of scourge and mechanical parts is enough to remind him that, even if they are human, some of niflheim inhabitants are no better than MTs
  * iedolas is thrilled because such a vicious creature he has brought into his domain
    * it’s a mix of cold hard curiosity and greed that makes him hire tutors for noctis, and even sometimes teaching the child himself, because he wants to see how much the oracle can grow
  * drautos ends up being noctis’ bodyguard, because no one wants to anger the oracle, especially when they see how iedolas practically dotes on him, as much as the cold hearted emperor can anyway
  * if noctis wants to beat iedolas at his own game and kill him, he wants to break drautos, even if he will only recognize that years and years later
  * being his bodyguard was only a part-time assignment in the beginning, until noctis made his first request to iedolas that the general become his permanent bodyguard
    * the emperor is intrigued, because he cannot fathom why noctis would want his parents’ killer close to him
    * and he grants his request, curious about what he is attempting
  * what he never imagined was that overtime, noctis had learned to pick out the seam between drautos and glauca. he wants to rip it apart and find his way in, especially when he sees the, surprise of all surprises, guilt lingering in drautos’ eyes when he looks at him
    * between his stays in gralea and the oracle tours, noctis slowly finds his way in, with a mix of feigned innocence, sharpness and guilt
  * strangely enough, he both hates and appreciates drautos, because he is the only familiar thing he had in gralea in the beginning, in a rather twisted manner
  * and noctis doesn’t realize it until later, but a part of his power had slowly leached into drautos after he became the oracle, and it stayed dormant until noctis got angry enough at glauca during one of the tours
    * the armor may have been made with the crystal in mind, but it can do nothing against the oracle power
  * and that’s when noctis forcefully makes him into his knight; drautos kneeling on the ground in pain, armor fluctuating as magitek fights against oracle power, noctis’ nails digging into the side of his face as he drags their face closer together
  * “do you think you’re atoning when you do this, drautos? do you like being on your knees? is that why you went to to niflheim?”
    * because noctis is vicious and cruel, the results of years of isolation and being a political hostage with no support
  * this is the first time he kisses drautos, but certainly not the last
    * it sends a thrill down his spine to have his parents’ killer at his mercy, a giant killing machine in the flesh. and it would be so sweet to turn him against niflheim, turn him into the weapon that would free tenebrae
  * their bond is nothing like the knights, no gentleness or sharing. it’s a leash where drautos is at noctis’ mercy, just like he wants it
  * now, what noctis wants is to make drautos want to kneel at his feet
  * and when he does?
  * this is when noctis takes him to bed
  * (sometimes, in the dead of the night, when no one can hear him, noctis begs for his parents’ forgiveness)
  * (he tried so hard in the beginning, but he couldn’t choose kindness over bitterness, not for this)
  * (and he is not guilty about his choice, which may be the worst thing yet)




	5. izanami!au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in a world where nyx’s father aka papa ulric aka néit saves noctis from the marilith and raises him alongside nyx and selena, joining the kingsglaive and meeting his blood father again may easier than he had thought. Easier compared to being possessed, that is.
> 
> posted on [tumblr](http://ckyking.tumblr.com/post/160741857524/izanamiau)

  * this came from a thought i had that was inspired by versus xiii
  * what if noctis was possessed?
  * what if an aspect of etro, goddess of death, survived her demise and used noctis as a vessel? 
    * she chose the body that would have housed the crystal’s power, deeming it a fitting container for her magic and soul
    * she, the destruction aspect of death, stayed dormant until years later, after both nyx and noct became glaives and noct reunited with regis.
  * using his proximity to the crystal as a catalyst, she takes over his body and intends to force him to destroy eos, so the world etro loved so much could join her in death
    * the crystal was nearly completely drained in the process, leaving insomnia defenceless and forcing regis to evacuate the city
    * the crown city falls and becomes her stronghold. 
    * she cannot yet lay waste to eos as she wishes, because noctis is still fighting her and most of her powers cannot yet be funneled through him. she has to slowly break the world’s resistance while overwhelming her vessel, so she will gain back the full use of her powers
  * his body starts failing not long after, because he was never meant to hold that much power, nor so much death. in the beginning, he fought desperately to take back his body, until his soul exhausted itself and fell asleep to maintain its existence
    * the only times he wakes is when she threatens people he loves, but she puts him back to sleep so his body will last longer. 
  * mainly, she uses magic and her own servants, reanimated monsters and human beings. being an aspect of death, she subjugated the lucian souls dwelling in the tempering grounds and banished gilgamesh, making them into her personal army. 
    * it was made that much easier by the fact that noctis was supposed to be their future liege, and obey his blood, if not his will
  * carbuncle shelters noctis as much as possible in his sleep and works tirelessly to find a solution.
    * it’s while combing through the dreams of his realm that he finds a long-forgotten one from the goddess herself, having left it there in preparation of her other self’s awakening. 
    * in his dreams, noctis meets her, and she gives him the last part of her powers over time, to counteract his decay and slowly accustom him to the change she is starting 
  * he doesn’t know it, but more and more of the lucian souls are rejecting the goddess’ orders in small ways, stopping themselves from attacking or destroying reanimated monsters.
  * this is because noctis is slowly becoming another aspect of death, inevitability, the knowledge that death will come for everything. 
    * as their liege and now on the same level as the one possessing him, his claim is stronger than hers and the balance of power is shifting back to him
  * the lucians can feel this, even if their “mistress” cannot, so lost is she in trying to subjugate both eos and her vessel
  * in the meantime, regis, the kingsglaive and the crownsguard organized the evacuation to tenebrae and the various towns around lucis. 
  * néit and some of his warriors joined nyx and regis when he learned of insomnia’s fate, and the rumor that it was the fault of the king’s own son’s
  * the three of them separated not too long after, with regis going to tenebrae with clarus and the rest of his people to find out more about what is possessing noctis and to be healed from the blow the crystal’s loss dealt him 
  * he fought to stay and help noctis. 
  * néit and nyx organized the resistance to keep the goddess’ army contained around insomnia, using the remnants of the crystal’s power and galahd’s old magicks
  * they are witnesses to noct’s slow transformation over time, from his black eyes to the deathly white of his skin or the ceremonial clothes that he wears while directing the goddess’ army. 
    * they try to reason with him, to find out what is going on but she tortures them every time by allowing a glimpse of noctis to show through before smothering him once more.
    * “the father of his heart and his lover. the triangle would be complete if not for the father of his flesh. how interesting. he is begging me to spare you, do you know that? but if he continues, his body may just fail. how cruel of you to subject him to this.”
    * they get to see black bleeding back into pained blue for a second before a cruel laugh so unlike the ones they were used to escapes noctis’ lips, and the goddess reappears once more
  * she never actually moves under her own strength, either using monsters as mounts or levitating
  * except, a few weeks after noctis’ possession, she joins the battlefield, and how she _moves_
    * her style is nothing like the one noctis refined over the years, preferring brute strength and devastating spells over weapons and speed
    * she cuts a swath of destruction through the resistance, leaving nothing but ashes in her wake
  * she can feel noctis getting weaker, and intends to end him once and for all by forcing him to kill two of the most important persons in his life with his own hands
    * but noctis is not getting weaker, he is actually getting _stronger_ and finishing his ascencion to a different plane of existence, which is why he feels fainter to her senses
  * so blinded by her goals, she does not realize this until it’s too late
  * just as she is about to strike nyx down, néit too far to intervene, glowing blades stabs _out_ of noctis’ chest
    * nyx’s heart leaps when he recognizes noctis’ daggers, the ones they had hunted the materials for together
    * with a scream of pain and rage from the goddess, noctis, the actual noctis, rips his way out from his possessed body’s chest
    * “hey hero, you missed me?”
    * “you fucking asshole, we thought you were _gone_.”
  * noctis looks completely different however; his black hair turned white, the blue of his eyes sharpened to an unnatural shade, the sheer amount of strength that emanates from him
    * he recreated a new body of his own, and left the broken one to the goddess who wrecked it with her own hands
    * both of them are now of the lucis line, but the souls know who their liege is
    * and noctis takes back the lucian warriors from her
  * “it shouldn’t be possible! how did you- she is dead!”
  * “not as much as you think.”
    * she can recognize etro’s power in him, and she _does not understand_
  * this is how the second astral war begins
  * a war to decide the successor to the unseen goddess, ruler of the underworld just as bahamut is the ruler of the waking world
  * destruction or inevitability? only time shall tell




	6. the world forgetting, the world forgot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> history must repeat itself, so it is written. noctis is sent back in time after bringing back the light, with only three blades, and a name.
> 
> posted on [tumblr](http://ckyking.tumblr.com/post/161158491789/the-world-forgetting-the-world-forgot)

  * guess who is going to a special kind of hell for this? me! and guess who doesn’t give a fuck? still me!
  * now that’s out of the way, let’s get on with it
  * the astrals like their cycle
    * if the first king of light fails? allow the bloodline to grow in power
    * a king is born, dies, goes to the crystal
    * rinse and repeat, until the expected spike in power comes
  * but what if this went even further?
  * it always seemed strange to me that regis gave noctis what would have become his royal arm, the culmination of all he did as a ruler of lucis
    * aren’t they supposed to be forged in the heat of battle? a weapon stolen and made greater still? a weapon born from its wielder’s being?
    * no, noctis’ royal arm is and has always been the sword of the father, not that it bore that name at the time
    * all that he is and he would be compressed in one blade, the one that would ultimately take his life
    * and the engine blade? regis’ weapon
    * (in other worlds, this is not true, and regis gave him the engine blade as a birthday present, for his son who would never get to make his own path)
  * this is how it happens
  * when noctis dies for the first time, the crystal refuses to let him go
    * the king of light is born at dusk and dies at dawn, so it is written
    * but for him to die, he must be born first
    * this is a given
    * so, when he dies, the crystal takes him back into himself, and whisks him away to a time where his shadow lingers over everyone he ever touched
    * the soul of eos does not care for linearity, it exists at every point in time where the planet is still alive, and it would not be denied
  * he reappears around forty years in the past, in the tempering grounds, unaware of anything but his name
    * gilgamesh, for all that he is ruthless, still recognizes a member of the line he had sworn himself to
    * the line that he himself belonged to, once upon a time, before forsaking his name to protect his brother, and become his shield
    * he is the one that takes the last king in, that heals him and takes care of him, helped by the lucian souls who dwell in their resting place
    * noctis is cut off from the crystal’s power, because he is not a king in that world. he is just a man, adrift in time
    * elemancy, inherited from his mother’s side, still runs in his veins, but it is the only magic he has access to now
    * and the blade he wields is the one responsible for the scar on his chest
    * as well as the two daggers that had followed him in death, like their owner would have
  * noctis spends a lot of time in the tempering grounds in the beginning as he slowly regains his strength and adapts to the hole the crystal left inside of him
    * not that he knows what the dull pain inside of him is
  * training with gilgamesh, talking with the souls, healing
  * the past is not that different from the future in that moment
  * after a while, gilgamesh pronounces him as healthy as he will ever get, and tells him that it is not yet his time to dwell in the tempering grounds
    * that the lake would accept him, someday, but not at the moment
    * but still, so he may always find his way back, gilgamesh gives him one of the banners adorning the caves, which he ties around the handles of all three of his blades
    * the second things the warrior gives him are slivers of crystal from his bridge, which noctis fashions into earrings
    * (he will find out only later that they can act as elemental deposits, reserves of power he can keep him in case of emergency)
  * he starts exploring after that, getting back in touch with the world he was kept away from for his own good
    * jobs as hunter, mercenary, always on the move, never settling
    * one of the people he likes to spend time with is kimya, who feels both familiar and grounded in a way that doesn’t leave his head aching
    * he feels like he knows her, but it’s not as urgent a feeling as when he tries to pierce the veil obscuring his memories
  * it’s during one of those hunts that he meets clarus for the first time
  * the future king’s shield usually get out of the city for training purposes, to test his strength against stronger opponents than he would find in insomnia and to see his friends amongst the hunters
  * it’s not unusual for him to go to hunters’ bars to share glasses and stories afterwards
    * that’s when he starts noticing a lone hunter, always in black, with simple and functional clothes, but the sigils and subtle ornaments betray them as being of lucian make, even if older than what he is used to seeing
    * the crystal earrings which glinted in the light, the old jewelry around his neck, the designs engraved in his sword’s hilt
    * all of it betrayed his lucian heritage
  * no one seems to know who he is, he just appeared one day and starting taking all of the higher bounties and coming back none the worse for wear
    * and he is always alone, no matter that more than one hunter offered to accompany him
  * but what struck him the most was how similar he looked to aulea
    * the features, the eyes, even the unconscious little movements when confronted with either cold or heat were the same
  * and this is what pushes him to seat at his table the next time he sees him
    * noctis is surprised to be approached so boldly
    * people are always either completely at ease around him, like kimya or little dave, or put ill at ease by something...out of place around him
    * clarus is neither, and he is curious in spite of himself
    * something in the back of his mind hums in recognition
    * it’s almost too easy to fall back into half-remembered banter as the shield asks him about his latest hunt, the one everybody had been buzzing about
    * because who goes to hunt a family of malboros on their own?
    * but there is a reason why noctis doesn’t like to stay around people for too long
    * warm and mellowed by alcohol, it’s easy to forget the splitting headaches that incapacitate him at the least opportune of times
    * the only sign of pain this time around is a brief furrowing of his eyebrows before his face smoothed out
    * and clarus is amazed by how much he looked like regis in that moment
    * regis, whose face could clear of laughter in less than a second when faced with a member of the council
    * but he has no time to dwell on it, because his drinking partner gets up and starts gathering his gear
    * “i will see you around?” he says uncertainly, looking back with cloudy blue eyes
    * “you will.” clarus has an inkling about who this mysterious hunter may be, and he is not about to let go before confirming it. “i’m clarus.”
    * “noctis. just...noctis.”
    * and he is gone
  * they don’t see each other for quite a while after this
  * because noctis’ head won’t stop _hurting_
    * the memories are almost there, and whatever is holding them back is _raging_
    * half-blind from pain, he makes his way back to gilgamesh by letting his feet take him back, based the feel of the elemental deposits he encountered on his way
    * he doesn’t know how he is not killed before arriving, really
    * elemancy is his saving grace, close-combat so out of his reach it’s laughable
    * noctis finds his way to the havens simply by feel, feeling for the runes humming with blessed magic, eyes closed to try and lessen the pressure behind them
    * they grant him just enough peace for him to doze off fitfully, images flitting behind his eyes
  * when he finally, _finally_ gets back, he almost cries in relief
    * death would be better than this
    * the first thing he feels is gilgamesh’s gauntleted hand on the side of his face
    * “what have you done to yourself now, lost one?”
    * noctis turns his face into his hand, cold metal a balm to his burning skin
    * the blademaster leads him gently to the lake at the center of his domain, and makes him drink
    * while inwardly cursing the astrals and the crystal for the way they chose to play things out
    * noctis finally falls asleep, and gilgamesh takes him to the island, letting him rest on the altar at its center while it takes effect
    * once again burying his memories and healing him
    * this time, he lets it go deeper, granting him a part of his power
    * the ritual was only ever meant for his own warriors, but exceptions are to be made sometimes
    * (the tempering grounds and everything associated with them were forgotten for a reason after all, and that reason is the water)
  * the recovery takes longer this time, noctis’ exhausted body and mind falling deeper into slumber to recover
  * when he wakes up, it is to the warriors’ concerned voices and gilgamesh leaning against the slab of stone he was asleep on
    * “whatever you did almost killed you, lost one. do not attempt such a thing again.”
    * noctis takes a moment before answering
    * “they were almost back. i don’t know if i want them to.”
    * a solemn silence fills the grounds
    * the memories are safely back behind their wall now, but the lost king vows to stay away from others even more than before after this
    * he doesn’t want to go through this again
  * the barrier is stronger now, and the headaches are gone by the time he goes back to the surface world, away from the tangle of dimensions that make up the caves he calls home
  * his resolve does not last as long as he had wished
    * as soon as he gets back to an outpost to take another hunt, he is asked by no less than 3 people how he was doing, if he was alright, what had happened…
    * mostly the people he interacted the most with, like ezma’s husband, david, who liked to move from outpost to make sure everything was alright or the tipsters who had gotten to know him through their usual “bartender witchcraft”, as david would put it
    * he is a bit overwhelmed but touched by the concern
  * the concern quickly melts away when he learns that the hunt he had been keeping an eye, for a pair of behemoth causing havoc in duscae, was taken, and by clarus nonetheless
  * from what he had gleaned before his retreat to taelpar crag, the man usually took his time to do recon on the bigger targets, which noctis hopes is true as he heads to the last place they were reported at
    * “get back!”
    * clarus’ body moves before the words register to his mind, the tone, cutting and commanding, leaving no room for disobedience
    * he jumps out of the monster’s way just in time to avoid the lightning storm aimed at the spot he was standing in just a second before
    * glancing back, he is startled to see noctis and not regis as he had first expected
    * and even more by the unsettling violet illuminating his eyes, so unlike aulea’s deeper blue
    * but he is sure of one thing now : noctis truly is a leonis
    * the elemancy is confirmation enough
    * the way he fights? definitely hammers the point home
    * the dodges, edged in red and gold compared to the traditional lucian blue; water and air being drawn to him as he fought, replenishing his reserves like he had seen aulea do countless times; the same precision and deadliness at the base of cor’s style; the way he focused his aura into the edges of his sword
    * and the sword in and of itself. he had only seen the likes of it in king mors and regis’ armiger. the lines, the carving, the runes. a sword worthy of the royal line
    * the shield understands why this man could go head head to head with monsters even hunter groups hesitated to face by himself and _win_
    * the first behemoth goes down without a hitch in a combination of lightning and fire, igniting the very air around it in glorious red and blue
    * the second one is more difficult, and flees in the face of the hunter’s power with only a scar left to prove that it survived his sword
  * when they are dealt with, noctis rounds on clarus
    * “what the hell were you thinking!?”
    * he is pissed off, and it shows
    * nobody is stupid or reckless enough to go after a mated pair on their own
    * even he was planning on asking for david’s or ezma’s help for that one
    * clarus is not cowed in the least by his wrathful stare, but he does seem to grow more uncomfortable by the second
    * which is how he figures out that he is injured
    * noctis’ bedside manners are not the best
    * he brusquely tells him to strip off so he can deal with the wound, and nearly starts tapping his feet in impatience when he is not listened to immediately
    * the shield does, reluctantly, not willing to try his luck with the clearly angry hunter, moreso that he used all of his recovery items during the fight
    * (a lifetime knowing aulea leonis will do that to you)
    * there is a pretty consequent clawmark on his back from where he got caught by surprise
    * drawing clean water from the nearby swamp, noctis starts cleaning the wound and encouraging the edges closed. lightning to stimulate healing, fire to clean, and he is set
    * the older man can damn nearly hear gilgamesh talking about a warrior’s pride and why it should be taken seriously, and it does not help his temper
    * the vague grumblings about pride makes the amicitia chuckle in spite of himself, which just puts noctis in a worse mood
    * when he is done, clarus catches him by the arm and thanks him
    * tells him that he owes him a debt, and that he could call on him whenever he wanted
    * the older hunter visibly restrains himself from refusing, and abruptly deflates after _actually hearing gilgamesh_
    * it’s good enough for clarus
    * for now
    * because he is damn well making sure to either bring regis/aulea to this unknown leonis, or to make him come to them
    * though he is not going to try his luck now, with how put out noctis looks
    * their second meeting is quite the exciting one
  * after getting back to insomnia, clarus seeks regis out to tell him about the interesting man he met, who fights and acts like a leonis
    * which prompts the crown prince to dig into the archive behind his father and the council’s back
  * aulea and cor were born to their father’s second wife, the first one having died 5 years before in the infiltration of one of niflheim’s biggest bases
    * she was a soldier in the king’s army known for her ability to modify magitek on the fly and transform it into devastating bombs when mixed with the king’s magic, explaining why she was given this mission
    * they did not find anything confirming her death, and she was pronounced killed in action
    * their father found out later while shifting through her personal effects that she had been 3 months pregnant at the time
  * it would not be out of the realm of possibility for her to have survived, explaining noctis’ existence
    * perhaps this was another one of niflheim’s schemes. how could they be sure?
    * regis is sceptical, but willing to hear clarus out and meet this supposed leonis
  * aulea, being aulea, learns of this and tells them she is coming along, no matter what they say
    * no way is she letting them deal with something concerning her family without her
  * so, it’s a group of three that leaves insomnia
  * meanwhile, noctis is still exploring eos, still doing hunts, but stays closer to human settlements because of the encroaching MTs
    * david doesn’t stop teasing him about that, because his friend finally connecting with someone else? unthinkable!
    * “so you like them younger, huh?”
    * “ _shut up dave_ ”
    * “now you’ve just gone and dashed my dreams to pieces”
    * “i swear to the fucking six i will feed you to that coeurl.”
    * “hey now, let’s not get hasty, what would dave and ezma say?”
    * “she would agree with me. and dave would never find out how much of an idiot you truly are, i’m saving you some trouble.”
    * “wow, that’s cold.”
    * “oh hell, look what you’ve done, it’s coming our way now! you owe me so many drinks after this.”
  * the three lucians get to the outpost in the aftermath of this hunt, noctis laughing and poking fun at david, ezma judging both of them from where she is teaching dave proper weapon maintenance
    * aulea marches straight to him, because she wants to _know_
    * “aulea leonis, thanks for saving that knucklehead back there. he is an idiot and needs constant supervision, like that other one” she says as she jerks a thumb at her companions
    * there are definitely no indignant sounds in answer to that
    * noctis is bemused, but shakes the hand she thrust in front of his face
    * a quicksilver smirk unnoticed by everyone but her oldest friends crosses her face
    * because she got him exactly where she wanted him
    * a lot of things can lie, but not magic
    * and the way he instinctively starts drawing on the reserves she purposely left open is the sign she was waiting for
    * their timing couldn't have been better
    * when exhausted, a leonis tries to fill their their reservoirs of magic from everything around them, be it elements, deposits, or other wielders themselves
    * it cuts off as quick as it started, but noctis’ startled eyes meet hers, and he _knows_
    * “hello, _brother._ i wonder where you have been all those years.
  * regis and clarus are appalled by aulea’s lack of tact
  * noctis is not...shocked, per say. something inside of him knows it’s not the truth, which he tries to tell her
  * she is not having any of it
    * “you _are_ a leonis, magic doesn't lie”
    * “even it it was so, that doesn't make me your brother”
    * “it does. only three of us were born with the gift in the last hundred years : my father, my brother and me. you can't be anything but blood.”
    * (the leonis’ blood is one that strengthens overtime, privileging a few members over the others to focus itself)
    * noctis shakes his head silently and goes back to healing david, trailing sparks of lightning on his skin as he forces the wound closed
    * “i don't have anything for you to settle your debt yet, clarus, if that’s what you are here for.”
    * the dismissal is clear
    * aulea prepares to argue more, but she is stopped by clarus’ hand on her shoulder
  * the hair, the face, the eyes, noctis and aulea are so similar, it’s eerie, is what regis thinks as he takes over
    * he is still wary, but there is _something_ about the hunter that calls to him
    * the practiced detached look is evident to him, for having seen it many times in the mirror, but he forges on
    * “you could come back with us. family may be waiting for you at the end of it.”
    * “i have everything i need right here, thank you.”
    * “is there anything i can do to change your mind?”
    * “no.”
    * noctis thinks that everything is said and done at this point
    * oh, how wrong he is
    * he inherited his stubbornness from _somewhere_ after all
    * “very well then. we’ll just have to convince you.”
    * and then they rent a motel room
    * noctis cannot believe this is his life
  * david is silent beneath his hands
    * “you sure you don’t want to see what this is about? not everyday you get an invite to insomnia’s upper echelon.”
    * “not interested.”
    * a smirk curls his lips after that, but just as he opens his mouth–
    * “ouch! what did you shock me for!?”
    * “whatever you were about to say, i don’t want to hear it.”
    * cue mock wrestling match
    * noctis may have the height advantage, but david is _mean_ to make up for it
    * ezma wonders how she got saddled with this idiot sometimes
    * dave is alternatively cheering for his dad and noctis
  * really, what regis meant by convincing was “we’re going to accompany you on your hunts because this is apparently how you bond with people”
    * noctis is unimpressed, but lets them tag along
    * they are a pretty impressive bunch, really
    * lightning quick aulea with her rapier, magic at the tips of her fingers, as quick to laugh as she is to frown
    * cunning regis who refuses to give up no matter what, who moves in the air like he moves on earth
    * stoic clarus, unmovable as a rock, always ready to meet a challenge head on, and to pull the other two back when necessary
    * noctis hates to admit it, but they are growing on him
    * it’s the little moments, like regis holding them back for a second when he comes up with a new plan
    * clarus yelling at aulea when she nearly hit him with a spell and the sheepish shrug she gives him in return
    * regis and clarus watching noctis care for his sword, or the play of firelight on his earrings, the flex of his back as he trains with aulea, the glint of his jewelry at his hands and throat, how he sometimes runs his fingers over the daggers holstered at his thighs, the casual way he ties his hair back in a bun
    * (noctis looks like a ancient warrior brought back to life, and it is a memerizing sight)
    * laughing together over drinks as regis gets progressively more drunk and handsy around clarus
    * subtle around each other, those two are not, especially so far away from the city, and from its citizens’ constant judgement
    * aulea looks on in exasperated fondness and shares commiserating glances with noctis, who is looking on in amusement at regis’ uncharacteristic behaviour and his shield’s attempts at appearing unaffected
  * watching clarus unceremoniously carrying regis back totheir motel room is what makes noctis laugh around them for the first time, jacket thrown over his shoulder and hair tied back to deal with the heat
    * clarus and regis stop bantering for a bit, and it is when they think _maybe_
  * it’s a slow process, their trust, interrupted at times by aulea’s insistent questioning or noctis’ faraway gaze, his fingers lingering on either his sword’s sharp edge or the holstered blades at his thighs
  * their stay vary from a day to a week, the time they can spare until they are missed back in the city
  * after a while, weskham starts joining them, the butler both amused and worried by his friends’ constant absence
    * they click immediately, much to the three’s annoyance
    * weskham is too damn charming for anyone’s good, and not even noct is immune
    * telling him stories about aulea and regis’ shenanigans when they were younger, including the time regis inadvertently warped on top of a building and aulea climbed after him to get him down
    * kings mors didn’t stop laughing for 10 minutes straight when he found them
    * regis wants to hide his face in his hands, but he refrains from it. still does not help the blush when noct catches his eyes and his smile widens
    * this is not how he want to be noctis to see him dammit
    * from the corner of his eyes, he notices clarus hiding his smirk behind his class and kicks him in the chin
    * because they are ridiculous
  * but really, what actually manages to get him back to insomnia is cor, who learned about him from his sister and decided to see for himself after making sure that his sister is still in insomnia
    * cue tiny cor challenging noctis to a fight when he finds him
    * noctis is even less impressed than by his three usual tag-alongs and just freezes genji in its scabbard
    * “proof enough for you?”
    * cor is spluttering and really want to kill someone, preferably noctis
    * which does not happen because the hunter is not letting a child go back to insomnia by himself
    * the youngest leonis is _offended_ but stops protesting when he gets a _look_ scarily similar to aulea
    * he really doesn’t want to listen to him but as they journey back to the city, noctis starts teaching him little tricks which he starts using in spite of himself, like how to increase the amount of energy he can absorb from deposits, or how to maximize his aura and increase his strikes
    * pointedly showing that yes, he has magic, and to stop and listen for a second
    * because grumpy noct is grumpy and needs a nap
  * they make a stop by hammerhead to rest for the night before heading on to the crown city; cid takes one look at cor’s disgruntled face and noctis’ amused one and wants to go back to his cars
    * he settles for whacking cor on the head once and tells him how aulea was ready to search the countryside by herself to find him, which cor looks vaguely guilty for
    * and then he turns to the hunter, looks at him for a second and shakes his head
    * “so you’re the one the two idiots have been singing the praises of for months?”
    * “cid, i take it?”
    * “yeah, that’s me”
    * this is the beginning of beautiful friendship full of grumpiness and complaints
    * it’s great
    * cid tells noct to come on in and to take “the brat” with him while he’s at it
    * they end up sharing a meal together, which mainly consists of cid and noctis taking turns needling cor who tries (and fails) to stay stoic
  * cor and his self-assigned minder leave for insomnia the next day
    * cid is just wondering what kind of trouble regis and clarus got themselves into, because oh boy is noctis completely their type; it’s unnerving
    * he is too old to deal with this
  * the smallest leonis may or may not have hidden behind behind noctis at aulea’s unnervingly calm, “please open the gates, before i break them down for you.” when they arrived at the entrance of the crown city
    * that one was followed by a decidedly _not_ calm death threat aimed at her brother
  * regis, clarus and her are waiting just behind the gates as they open slowly, still in their formal clothes from the council they hastily escaped once they got cid’s message
  * noctis enters insomnia, and never really leaves
    * no way are they letting him go now that he is finally there
    * and noctis is reluctant in the beginning, but damn if he didn’t get attached to them
    * so he stays, rejects aulea’s offer of an apartment, because she is the head of the family after her father’s death
    * she stopped trying to convince him about being her elder brother, because she saw how uncomfortable it made him, but he’s still added to the family register
    * noctis ends up renting an apartment in what would become the galahdian immigrant district in the future with the money he accumulated from hunts
    * they don’t even ask him about becoming a crownsguard, it wouldn’t fit him
  * he gets dragged to the citadel on most days when he is in the city, because they know he would either try to lose himself in the city or go back outside the if left to his own devices
    * sword and elemancy training with cor, because he got attached
    * wandering the gardens with regis as he vents about the council or expresses his worry about niflheim
    * getting conned into trying weskham’s new recipes
    * going out for drinks with clarus
    * aulea dragging him for an excursion in the city because “you’re too gloom for your own good”
    * generally making sure that he does not end up like cid
    * which noctis bitches about to the man in question. he is not sympathetic _at all_ to his plight and mostly laughs at him
  * regis and clarus stare when they see him in casual clothes, because noctis looks that much wilder when compared to the other lucians. his hair pulled back from his face, the small galahdian braids at his temple used to keep everything in place, the piercings and accessories that caught and held people’s attention as they enjoyed the city’s night life, the small knives he kept hidden on his person just in case. just, _noctis_
    * (noctis does not remember who taught him those twists in the first place, only calloused hands gently running through his hair, arm wrapped around a bare calf, hand following the lines of a tattoo. a soft memory he keeps alive by rebraiding his hair in this fashion, letting his fingers work as he closes his eyes)
  * their first kiss happens in the green lands surrounding the city, the three of them sitting by one of the small ponds hidden amongst the trees
    * noctis is warm and comfortable between them, leaning against clarus’ shoulders and looking up at the sky, pointing out constellations to them
    * regis makes the first step, touching him on the back to catch his attention before leaning in for a kiss
    * the panic that springs in him is more distant than usual, because he _wants this._ he doesn’t see why anyone would want him, who had nothing except three blades and a name, but oh how he _wants_
    * then, it’s clarus’ turn, turning noctis’ face and catching it in his hands before kissing him, slow and careful, unlike regis’ surer nips and teases
    * the leonis lets go, stops thinking and enjoys the moment
  * a lot happens during those war torn years, but mostly they are happy
    * niflheim can still be held in check by the old wall, leaving them free to travel, even more so with regis grown and able to protect himself
    * he wouldn’t have accepted staying caged in the city, which is a caelum if anyone has ever heard of one
  * mors sees noctis in action while he is training with aulea, clarus and regis, red and gold haze surrounding his sword as he danced around the prince’s warp strikes, blades seemingly jumping to his hand as he countered aulea’s magic with his own and singing as they cut through the air to intercept clarus’ strikes
    * which is how he ends up accompanying the king to the front lines as he fights to reach the lucii statues maintain the wall protecting lucis from niflheim
    * mors “the tower” lucis caelum, a beast of a man whose favoured weapon is a bow, shooting down soldiers and daemons by the dozens from afar
    * (the bow of the tower : this weapon belonged to the king who held strong against an invasion, sacrificing lands to save the kingdom's heart)
  * noctis finally letting aulea and cor call him their older brother


    * “what will you do if i disappear one day? i won’t always be there to help.” noctis asks during one of their training trip outside of the city, to get cor more experience, which everyone else invite themselves to
    * cor just frowns at him in reproach
    * “don’t be ridiculous, i will always find you”
    * noctis grins and drags him closer, messing his hair up and knocking his beret askew
    * “what would i do without my tenacious little brother, huh?”
    * cor tries to push him away half-heartedly, badly hiding a smile while aulea is laughing, arm wound around noctis’ waist
    * weskham chooses that time to take a picture, and it’s the one cor will keep for years
    * the leonis family, smiling together
  * getting taken on fishing trips by regis and clarus, using the opportunity to visit david, ezma and little dave, as well kimya when they go to malmalam thicket for some of wesky’s ingredients
  * aulea throwing him to the sharks by making him her escort during most of the official functions she attends, because she is enabler and likes making her friends suffer
    * jealousy and wandering hands in dark corners of a ballroom may or may not happen when noctis in a suit makes his first appearance
    * helping him out of it is just as good, in regis and clarus’ opinion
  * but all things must end one day
  * noctis knows it, because the wall holding back his memories starts to break down, and he hears the lucian souls’ whispers more clearly than before, one of them tugging at his heartstrings with how familiar they (he) sound
  * when cor expresses the desire to pass the trial, noctis and clarus accompany him
    * if he is a little more frantic, a little more tender during the last night he shares with his lovers, well, it’s his secret to bear
    * trying to engrave the sight in his mind, knowing he would never see it again
  * cor and noctis walk parallel to each other across the dimensions, cor going through the trials led before him and noctis walking to his resting place
  * as the youngest leonis and gilgamesh battle, noctis finds himself back at the place he first appeared in, on the altar in the middle of the lake
  * pulling out his sword, the sword of the father he remembers now, he unwinds the prayer banner that kept it tied to him from the hilt and leaning, his forehead one last time on its cold metal, says his goodbye
    * the sword of the last, the sword of the lover, the sword of the father
    * two blades meeting in the middle and crossing paths in the stream of time
    * in insomnia, regis’ armiger appears around him, thirteen blades circling him
  * when cor takes gilgamesh’s arm, noctis slips back into slumber, to await his time
  * the waters swallow him, and with him disappears all memories of noctis leonis, events slowly warping at the edge to erase his presence
    * there is a reason why a leonis’ eyes are blue
  * the owner of the voice he had heard so many time appears to him as he sinks into the lake, and the last king of lucis _remembers_
    * a roguish smile and pale blue eyes, tattoos he had traced so many times
    * “welcome back, little king”
    * and he sleeps
  * when the king of light sacrifices himself to bring dawn back, noctis, no longer a caelum, not truly, awakens, and gilgamesh greets him
  * “without the crystal my brother gave his life for, without the ring that adorned your hand, you are mine more than his, lost one; my own”


    * gilgamesh, founder of the leonis line, the first king’s brother, and his shield
    * the one who willingly lost his name to better protect his brother, and eos’ future
    * a family history mired in loss, eyes forever reflecting the blue waters of the tempering grounds; to remember, and to forget
    * “even if everything you know disappears, even if you are left adrift in time, you will always find a place here”
  * across eos, events shift back into place, and memories break through the pane of glass they had been hidden behind; in leide, in duscae, in altissia
  * cor is waiting for him as he emerges from the welcome darkness of the caves
    * “i told you i would always find you.”
  * noctis smiles a little at this, both happy and sad. because the life he had left was no more, all the people he had known dead and gone
  * (a father, a lover, which one came first, which one came last)
  * to be continued



 

 


	7. toil and trouble!au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> temporarily sent to another reality, the oracle and his knight save a dying glaive from the lucii's power, and take him home with them (aka knight!nyx/oracle!noctis/glaive!nyx)
> 
> posted on [tumblr](http://ckyking.tumblr.com/post/160495509254/glaivenyxoraclenoctisknightnyx)

alright, so, this started as a joke where i considered what oracle!noctis would do if thrown into the canon verse (mainly because i was rewatching kingsglaive at the time and my salt increased tremendously)

  * “what a sad and hopeless future this world holds.” noctis whispers as he looks up at his father’s figure going down the steps of insomnia’s citadel, “though, it is not that different from ours in the end.”
    * the kings of lucis trying to pull him into their games when the hostilities start. crystal fragments fighting against the oracle’s light as he struggles to keep his trident in place, “you cannot grant what is not yours to give!”, he shouts as the trident grows hotter in his hands, “you are nothing to me, kings of lucis!”
    * “i am the oracle of tenebrae and you will _heed me._ ”
  * also, him going "fuck it, no one here is dying, do you hear me? ”
    * “i do not fucking care, even if we only stay one day, none of you are dying!”
    * nyx is both glad and salty about this, “if i knew this was what it took to make you fight against fate, i would have opened that damned portal myself ages ago”
    * looking at regis and nyx and crowe and luna and going, “you’re mine, you’re mine, you’re mine and _you’re mine._ ”
    * “no one is dying ever”
  * he is all dutiful and all but you fuck with someone else’s fate and he will wreck you
  * oracle!noctis is a vicious little creature who gladly tear you apart if you threaten his people and he will look harmless while doing it
  * And then, because my brain hates me, it shifted to noct struggling to keep glaive!nyx alive as dawn rises because a) healer and b) fuck the lucii
  * while knight!nyx is trying to convince him that “ _no_ , you cannot take him back with you!”
    * “he nearly died! I’m not leaving him there!”
    * “noctis, no.”
    * “noctis _yes._ ”
    * "your strays are not crossing the dimensional barrier, i _forbid it_. ”
  * noct stops looking up at his nyx to ask glaive!nyx who he is keeping alive through sheer force of will, “do you want to come with me?”
    * he nods vaguely because he is dying and dazed by the pain, and noct goes “well, that settles it”
    * “ _goddammit noct_ , you can’t take him, me, glaive!me back!”
    * “just say he is your long lost twin!”
    * “he is in no shape to agree to this!”
    * “well, he is dying, so he doesn’t have that much choice left if I _leave him like that._ ”
  * but, _but_ imagine for one second if something happened between glaive!nyx and noct while knight!nyx was still held back by his "duty”
  * (because it’s a thing in the oracle!au. also, they are good at talking about every single feeling _except_ for whatever is growing between the two of them. anyway)
  * glaive!nyx still reeling from the events and having to adapt to a whole new world and to a whole new life where everything he cared for is unreachable now. everything he knows is switched around.
  * but he is still nyx so he would take one look at noct and what he is going through after everything calms down and be like, “i can’t just leave him like that.”
  * knight!nyx literally seeing what his life would have been without noctis. and he is so thankful.
  * but nyx without the weight of the years spent together? noctis would find it that much easier to act on his growing affection, even if he still feels guilty as hell and so painfully in love with his nyx.
  * not that he continues to separate them with the word “his” seeing that glaive!nyx also becomes his in noct’s eyes after a while.
  * glaive!nyx is wilder than knight!nyx, and drags noct everywhere with him while exploring this new eos. it feels like his first meeting with knight!nyx, and it’s fun to watch discover new-old things and to show him around tenebrae.
  * knight!nyx never leaves them alone if he can help it, but seeing glaive!nyx flirting with noctis just drives him crazy. and it hurts seeing noct react to him so easily
  * and noctis feels guilty over stealing nyx away from his world and tries to make it up to him, which ends up drawing them closer to each other.
  * the worst, the absolute worse in knight!nyx’s eyes is when glaive!nyx is sworn in as a knight. and his tattoos start around the finger he wore the ring on and goes up his arms following the veins of power the lucii’s power left behind.
  * it’s horrible seeing him with as deep a connection to noct as nyx himself, because the oracle’s power had to dig in deep to keep him alive, and it shows
  * he can see them falling in step with each other like the oldest knights automatically do with noct, or reaching for the same thing, or doing remarkably similar movements and it _grates_
  * you better believe he enjoys fighting himself when his counterpart is recovered enough. lets him get all his agression out, and he not-so-secretly enjoys him having to teach himself a new fighting style what with the lack of warping
  * (not that glaive!nyx doesn’t try to create an alternative to that using the oracle’s power)
  * but noct still comes to him, still seeks him out as usual, even if a little less than usual because of glaive!nyx.
  * he still wonders if noctis gravitating toward his other self means that he is not good enough
  * glaive!nyx sees this, because some things are universal to every nyx ulric, but he doesn’t want to do anything about it. because noctis is the only familiar thing he has in the entire universe and he is so tired of letting things go.
  * also, glaive!nyx is so suicidally protective of noctis, it’s unreal. the oracle is ready to tear his hair out over this because _of course the only thing worse than nyx at this staying unharmed business would be nyx_
  * that would be the thing to make knight!nyx snap to be honest. just him looking at noctis being himself and imagining him with glaive!nyx and his heart just breaks. 
  * him taking noct into his arms and kissing him, “please, don’t send me away. i will be better, i promise, just please. ”
    * and it’s noctis’ heart that breaks this time
    * “i’m sorry nyx, i’m so sorry, but i can’t send him away. i _can’t_. he has no else, and- ”
    * “do you love him?”
    * “i- i can’t- ”
    * and he can feel nyx retreat from him at his non-answer and he panics and holds on that much tighter to him,
    * “don’t leave me nyx. i- i may be growing to love him, but i do love you, so please. ”
    * nyx wants to believe, knows that it may be true, but he is still not sure, and it kills him
    * he gently disentangles himself from noct and walks away, because it’s a mess of feelings and thoughts and he can’t
    * the connection between them slams shut and he knows without looking back that noctis is holding back tears, just like he is
  * glaive!nyx finds noctis in the same position later, when he goes in search for him, because they were supposed to explore around town together.
    * noctis is looking out of the window at the setting sun, eyes dry but cheeks wet and he is just- blank. nyx just sits near him, one knee folded back against his chest and talks softly, to try and draw him back. but noctis refuses to look at him because he will break if he sees his face
    * except he eventually does, because they are nyxandnoctis and he can’t help it. when he does, he just folds nearly in half and cries because his heart has always been the most fragile part of him
    * noctis ends up leaning against nyx’s chest and cradled in his arms, exhausted from all the emotions. he shakes his head when he is asked if he wants to go to his bedroom, and he is curls closer to him.
    * they end up spending a good part of the night there. when he finally falls asleep, nyx takes him to bed and go hunt hunt for his counterpart, because he can imagine what went on exactly.
  * when they do, glaive!nyx goads him into a fight like he is so good at while knight!nyx tries to ignore him. but when he brings up noctis, they go all out.
  * knight!nyx is trying to deal with his love and his sadness and his perceived inadequacy while glaive!nyx is letting out all his pain and his confusion and yes, his growing devotion for noctis because he is the only thing he has in this world. and he ends screaming at his counterpart in the middle of it
  * telling him that he’s an idiot for not taking what was freely offered for so long, and that he is not going to let noctis go to matter what 
  * knight!nyx is terrifyingly silent and the deadlier for it while glaive!nyx’s words destroy him.
  * it’s the taunt about him never loving noctis that sets him off and glaive!nyx is fucking glad because this means the other him is feeling something. even if he ends up pinned to the ground with a kukri to his throat while he presses his own against knight!nyx’s stomach
  * and that’s how noctis finds them when he runs out of the manor in search of a threat, their wild emotions having awakened him
  * noctis gets so sad then, sad and self-recriminatory and angry and most of all _guilty_ “i want you both. is that what you wanted to hear? because it’s true! are you both going to leave now!? poor sad naive noctis who cannot even make up his mind. it that what you wanted to hear!?”
  * they stop fighting at this and painfully get to their feet while noctis is looking from farther away, terrified of their reactions and trying not to show it. they limp toward him with strikingly similar expressions which makes his hand tighten around his trident, summoned in preparation of battle. and then, they kneel in front of him, head bowed low and they apologize of all things.
  * noctis laughs at that, because all of this is ridiculous, they are all ridiculous. but this is such a nyx thing to do, and he ends dropping the trident which vanishes before it hits the ground and hides his eyes with his hand.
  * and things get a little better after that, because they sit down and fucking talk about the three of them and where they’re heading
  * bonus : they both go by nyx ulric. it drives the other knights crazy, so they end up calling one of them nyx and the other ulric. noctis is the only one to call both of them nyx, and it baffles everyone how, every single time, no exceptions, nyx and ulric know exactly which one of them he is referring to.




End file.
